Cosmetics companies are always looking for new ingredients that provide beneficial properties to skin. Extracts of plants are well known for use in cosmetics. Plant extracts contain many different types of organic compounds that are very beneficial to skin. Certain disciplines such as traditional Chinese medicine and herbology are based upon the principles of using natural plant extracts to treat various skin and bodily ailments.
However, as beneficial as such plant extracts may be to skin, they are not without complications when it comes to formulation. Sometimes such extracts will “brown” a formula, that is, the extract contains components that oxidize in air to turn a formula a commercially unacceptable tan or brown shade. In other cases, such extracts may be unstable and degrade to various sub-components that are no longer efficacious in providing the desired end benefit. Accordingly, formulation of commercially acceptable cosmetic products that provide the aesthetics that demanding consumers require is not an easy feat.
Extracts of fungi, in particular, are often desired for use in cosmetics. Such extracts have many beneficial properties to skin. For example, fungi from the genus Trametes are known for their medicinal properties. Sophisticated outdoorsmen will sometimes chew a piece of fungi picked from Trametes Versicolor (also referred to as Turkey Tail) like gum when they are hiking in the woods.
However, it has been discovered that in addition to its perceived medicinal properties, extracts from the genus Trametes also have beneficial properties when applied skin. For example, Trametes extracts contain certain subcomponents that whiten or brighten skin by inhibiting tyrosinase or affecting other mechanisms that contribute to skin pigmentation, or otherwise improving the appearance of uneven pigmentation, for example, like that found in age spots or mottled skin. Extracts from the Trametes genus are also excellent moisturizers, and some species may also be useful in absorbing excess sebum in oily skinned individuals. However, because Trametes extracts can be difficult to formulate with, and cosmetics consumers have high demands when it comes to aesthetics and stability of their products, it is necessary to develop certain cosmetic base formulations that are capable of maintaining the stability and efficacy of the Trametes extract in the cosmetic formula and providing aesthetically pleasing commercially acceptable cosmetic products.
It has been discovered that incorporating the Trametes extract into a composition containing a synthetic polymeric viscosity enhancing agent provides a stable cosmetic formulation that is aesthetically pleasing.
It is an object of the invention to provide a topical cosmetic or pharmaceutical composition comprising at least one extract of Trametes and at least one viscosity enhancing synthetic polymer.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a topical cosmetic or pharmaceutical emulsion composition comprising at least one extract of Trametes and at least one viscosity enhancing synthetic polymer.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a method for treating skin for improvement comprising applying to the skin a topical cosmetic or pharmaceutical composition comprising at least one extract of Trametes and at least one viscosity enhancing synthetic polymer.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a method for whitening skin comprising applying to the skin a topical cosmetic or pharmaceutical composition comprising at least one extract of Trametes in an amount sufficient to whiten skin, and at least one viscosity enhancing synthetic polymer.